Chapter 21: Should the shirt come off first or the pants?

Chapter 21: Should the shirt come off first or the pants?

Song Ji Mo returned to his room.

The moonlight outside the window was faint, casting a dim light inside. The silence seemed to amplify his thoughts, an inexplicable emotion growing wildly within him.

Ying Li lived in the room next to his. He wondered what Ying Li might be doing at that moment.

Perhaps taking a shower?

Would he take off his shirt or pants first?

Ying Li had long, straight legs. On the morning of their first meeting, he wore dark blue jeans. Standing on the stairs, Song Ji Mo's eyes were immediately drawn to them.

Slender yet brimming with strength.

His exposed ankles were fair and smooth. Song Ji Mo could grasp them with just one hand.

Then Ying Li turned around, his smile pure and refreshing.

Song Ji Mo didn't find it inappropriate to be initially attracted to someone's appearance before getting to know their character.

He would give a second glance to beautiful wildflowers or exquisite items in a window display, let alone such a handsome "kitten." On their first meeting, he already had the urge to tease him, as if with a cat toy.

A few days might not be enough to truly know someone, but for Song Ji Mo, it was the peak of the novelty. Maybe, with more time and understanding, the intrigue might fade.

He was fickle and had high standards. Ordinary beauty barely caught his attention.

The young man Shen Yao saw him with was someone he met at a friend's party before a talent show. He was the same age as Ying Li but so naive. After a month, he wanted to introduce Song Ji Mo to his family and had even planned out their entire future.

What a joke. His interest in someone never lasted more than three months.

After they broke up, that boy pestered Song Ji Mo for a long time, almost obsequiously. He's been on Song's block list for a while now. Calculating, Song has been single for about half a year.

Every aspect of Ying Li appealed to Song Ji Mo's aesthetic sense — obedient, compliant, and easy to control. If they ever broke up, Ying Li would probably just cry while looking at him.

Separated by just a wall, Ying Li, fresh out of the shower, sat by the bed drying his hair, casually browsing through videos on C-platform.

Lately, his homepage had been flooded with videos from 'Number'. While drying his hair, he set the videos to autoplay.

The warm blast from the hair dryer felt incredibly soothing on his face. By the time he finished drying his hair, the next video had already started.

A fan had captured and uploaded footage of today's airport arrival scene to C-platform.

Ying Li's first thought was, "I hope I wasn’t caught on camera." He scrubbed through the video multiple times from start to end, ensuring not even a strand of his hair was visible.

In the video, Ying Li was wrapped head to toe in Qi Xie's clothing, concealing his identity so thoroughly that no one could recognize him.

Ying Li turned on the comment stream and took a quick glance at the comments section.

["Guys, I was there! The moment Qi Xie appeared, it felt like a god descending. I instantly imagined a whole novel of 300,000 words!"]

["Who's the guy shielded by Qi Xie? If no one tells me about him within three seconds, I'm starting the rumors!"]

["That guy must be a staff member, right? Didn't Number Group’s manager mention they were hiring assistants recently?"]

["That assistant is so lucky! Can he tell us if the team leader’s clothes smell nice?"]

Ying Li glanced at the clothes on his bed and thought, "They do smell nice. I just don’t know which perfume it is."

["The team leader is genuinely warm-hearted, even towards the staff around him."]

["He might seem cold on the outside, but he silently pays attention to everyone. Who wouldn't fall for him?"]

These fans must be compliment machines. Over a thousand comments and not a single repeated sentiment.

With his eyelashes lowered, Ying Li continued scrolling, then noticed someone spamming negative comments below.

["Number's team leader looks so grumpy, as if someone owes him a fortune."]

["Every time I see him, he has this deadpan expression. What do those fans even see in him?"]

["Being a celebrity and still acting all high and mighty, can't even crack a smile."]

["Why does my homepage keep recommending this group to me? I can't even block it, it's so annoying."]

The person posting these comments was one individual. Clicking on their profile, Ying Li discovered they were a fan of another boy band. In a sense, there's always been competition between boy bands and girl bands in the industry, and fan disputes are common. But the words this person used were especially harsh, and it wasn’t long before Number's fans retaliated.

["If you were being constantly harassed by paparazzi, could you maintain a pleasant face? Besides, it’s the paparazzi that's in the wrong to begin with!"]

["Hilarious. Next time you trash talk Number, remember to clean up your browsing history. Maybe focus on supporting your own group instead?"]

["If you put half the energy you use to badmouth them into supporting your own group, your idols wouldn't be so overshadowed."]

As a user of C-platform, Ying Li felt an obligation to maintain the site's comment environment. He reported the troll, and just as he was writing the reason for his report, a WeChat notification popped up at the top of his screen.

Pulling down the notification bar, he saw a link from Shen Yao. Just as he was about to click on it, Shen Yao withdrew the message.

Ying Li: “?”

Shen Yao nearly jumped out of his bed. He had accidentally forwarded that video to Ying Li!

Seeing Ying Li’s question mark, Shen Yao felt a mix of panic and unease, much like those high school boys who got caught reading inappropriate content in class – embarrassed and ashamed.

Ying Li must think he's disgusting, watching stuff like that and even sending it to him...

With trembling fingers, Shen Yao typed, "Did you see it?"

Ying Li replied, "Was just about to click."

Sweating with anxiety, Shen Yao asked again, "You really didn’t see it?"

Ying Li, finding the behavior odd, responded, "I didn't. What’s in the video?"

Shen Yao replied, "Nothing, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight."

While Ying Li was curious about the content Shen Yao had withdrawn, since Shen Yao didn't want to share, he didn't press further and simply replied with, "Goodnight."

Setting his phone aside, Ying Li drifted into a deep sleep.

At 4:30 in the morning, Zhang ShaoLing came calling for them to shoot a magazine cover. When Ying Li was woken up, he was groggy and only felt refreshed after splashing cold water on his face.

With the morning chill, Ying Li bundled up in his coat as he stepped out.

The dawn was just breaking, with a few lingering stars still visible against the sky. Thick, impenetrable clouds floated overhead, as if at any moment they would release a downpour.

Waking up too early made everyone exhausted and reluctant to speak. As soon as they boarded the vehicle, they began to catch up on sleep.

Wrapped in his jacket, Ying Li boarded the minivan and took a short nap in his seat.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the shoot location, and Zhang ShaoLing went around waking everyone up.

Shen Yao sported massive dark circles under his eyes and felt a splitting headache.

Xie WenShi, sitting beside him, turned and was startled by the sight, "Wow, Shen Yao, are you related to pandas?"

Shen Yao couldn't be bothered to respond, raising a hand to massage his temple and getting off the vehicle on his own.

Xie WenShi followed, teasing, "You'll need tons of concealer today. Looks like you'll be using up our entire stock!"

Shen Yao wished he could sew Xie WenShi's mouth shut as he walked ahead, covering his ears.

Ying Li suggested, "I saw a coffee stand downstairs earlier. How about I get some coffee? It might help wake us up."

Walking alongside him, Xie WenShi replied, "Sounds good. I'll have a latte with extra sugar."

"You're welcome." Ying Li then turned to the others, "How about the rest of you? Any preferences?"

Qi Xie, donning a white windbreaker and appearing indifferent, simply said, "Whatever."

Bian Qiao requested, "Iced Americano."

Song JiMo gestured slightly with his chin, "I'll pass."

"And you, Shen Yao?" Ying Li continued to ask around but noticed Shen Yao had wandered off, "Where did he go?"

"Just get him something. Thanks for the effort," Zhang ShaoLing said to his assistant nearby, "Xiao Wang, go with Ying Li and help carry the drinks."

Inside the makeup room, Shen Yao sat motionless on a sofa, looking as if he had lost his soul.

Zhang ShaoLing gently patted his shoulder, "You seem off. Didn't sleep well?"

In a hoarse voice, Shen Yao replied, "Insomnia."

He hadn't slept a wink the entire night.

The video had profoundly affected Shen Yao. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the two male protagonists from the clip. He managed to doze off only in the early hours.

And in that brief moment of sleep, he dreamt.

A rather steamy dream.

When he awoke, there was a noticeable bulge under the blanket.

Glancing at his phone, it was already four in the morning. Sweating profusely, he went to the restroom and splashed his face with cold water.

But that wasn't enough.

The intense heat inside him felt almost consuming, scalding him from within. He opted for a cold shower.

The burning sensation in his heart turned into hot steam, filling the bathroom.

"The coffee's here."

The door to the makeup room opened, and Ying Li entered, holding a bag. He took out a cup and handed it to Shen Yao, "Shen Yao, I got you a latte, is that okay?"

"Thank you." To avoid Ying Li's gaze, Shen Yao didn't even look up, reaching out to take the coffee.

Their hands brushed against each other, and the spot on Shen Yao's skin where they touched felt immediately hot and sensitive.

The unexpected heat made him flinch, causing the lid of the cup to come loose, and a few drops spilled onto Ying Li's white sneakers, leaving a noticeable dark stain.

Shen Yao's grip on the cup tightened, and he looked up with remorse, "I'm sorry."

Ying Li brushed it off with a smile, "It's fine, I'll just wash it off later."

"Okay." Shen Yao nodded, eyes downcast, and quickly moved away.

Ying Li went on to distribute the coffee to others.

Shen Yao took a sip of his coffee; it tasted a bit bitter.

Now, he wasn't sure how to face Ying Li — all because of that lurid dream.

During his adolescence, he often had such dreams. They were just natural physiological responses, nothing to be ashamed of.

Yet, to his astonishment, the subject of his dream last night was Yinglei!

He dreamt of himself kissing Yinglei, pinning him against the wall...

It was utterly spine-chilling.

It was just like those passionate and confused kisses between gay characters in those films.

To be objective, did he find it disgusting?

Not in the least.

Yinglei was undoubtedly more handsome than the movie's lead, with a better physique, and his skin was so fair...

Lost in thought, he became entranced.

A vision of Yinglei, drenched in the shower, flashed before him. Yinglei did have muscles, not the overly sculpted kind, but a slight definition. With a slender waist, and when the cold water hit his chest, it became prominently pinkish...

He glanced downward, damn, it happened again.

A note from the author:

Such vigor and vitality...